Republicans vowed Tuesday not to heel to harassment threats against convention delegates who oppose Donald Trump.
Mike DeVanney, a candidate for delegate in Pennsylvania, said warnings from Trump supporters to heed the results of his state’s primary wouldn’t scare him from exercising his power in Cleveland. The Republicans are headed toward a contested nominating convention, and DeVanney said he is prepared vote for the candidate that gives the GOP its best chance in the general election, even if that individual loses Pennsylvania.
Trump is favored to win the state’s presidential primary on April 26. The same day, Republican voters will elect 54 delegates — three from each congressional district — who are automatic free agents at the July convention.
“We’ll certainly weigh what the voters in our congressional district and in our state [want.] But we also have an obligation to do our level best to cast a vote for a candidate who is positioned to win in November,” said DeVanney, a former supporter of Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida who is running as “uncommitted” to any of the three remaining candidates. “Threats are not necessarily productive.”
Roger Stone, a former Trump advisor and prominent booster is encouraging the billionaire’s backers to march on the Cleveland and confront delegates who vote against his nomination on the convention floor — if they represent regions he won in the primaries. Stone said he plans to publicize specific hotels and room numbers where delegates are staying, so that supporters can track down “the culprits” who are “disallowing” their votes.
Stone singled out the delegation from Pennsylvania. Later this month, Republicans there will vote on a nominee. Under the state GOP’s unusual rules, the winner garners just 17 delegates. The remaining 54 are elected directly by the voters, and are free to back the candidate of their choice at the convention. Unlike most other delegations, the 54 are not bound to support the primary winner of the first ballot on the convention floor.
Matt Moore, a delegate to the Cleveland convention via his position as chairman of the South Carolina Republican Party, said Stone’s threats were out of bounds. “It’s one thing to encourage constructive debate. It’s quite another to encourage trespassing on private property to harass delegates,” Moore, who represents a state Trump won, told the Washington Examiner in an email.
The Trump campaign declined to condemn Stone’s remarks in an email, but reiterated in an email that the rogue Republican operative is not affiliated with its operation. Here is what Stone said Tuesday during a radio interview:
“If Trump does not run the table on the rest of the primaries and the caucuses, we’re looking at a very, very narrow path in which the kingmakers go all out to cheat, to steal, and to snatch this nomination from the candidate who is overwhelmingly selected by the voters, which is why I have urged Trump supporters: come to Cleveland. March on Cleveland. Join us in the Forest City. We’re going to have protests, demonstrations. We will disclose the hotels and the room numbers of those delegates who are directly involved in the steal. If you’re from Pennsylvania, we’ll tell you who the culprits are. We urge you to visit their hotel and find them. You have a right to discuss this if you voted in the Pennsylvania primary, for example, and your votes are being disallowed.”
Trump led nearest competitor, Ted Cruz of Texas, 737 to 475, in the delegate race, with Ohio Gov. John Kasich trailing at 143.
But the Texas senator was poised to gain on the New York businessman Tuesday with an expected win in the Republican primary in Wisconsin that could be worth as many as 42 delegates. Trump needs to garner 1,237 delegates in the primary season, which ends in early June, to avoid a contested convention — a feat that is appearing increasingly unlikely.
In a multi-ballot floor fight, delegates are expecting to be targeted by the campaigns as candidates seek their support. But the public scrutiny as the GOP nomination hangs in the balance could be unprecedented in the modern area, and the delegates are hoping that the Republican National Committee and law enforcement with jurisdiction prioritize their security.
The RNC said that it has always prioritized security for convention delegates, and indicated that it is prepared to address the unique concerns that could arise from a bitter contested convention.
“We have planned for every contingency and have faith in the secret service who is the lead agency and all of their partners to keep the delegates and convention-goers safe. The convention is responsible for creating a safe and efficient environment for the delegates to do their jobs in the most fair and transparent way possible and that’s what we will do,” said Kirsten Kukowski, spokeswoman for the GOP convention.
Joe Andrews, a Kasich administration spokesman in Columbus, acknowledged that the state of Ohio is involved in providing convention security this summer. But he referred questions to the U.S. Secret Service.
“The safety of all citizens and visitors to the state of Ohio are always of our utmost concern and we’ll be working closely with federal officials to ensure that safety,” Andrews said.
Harassment of Republican delegates isn’t new.
Mary Kate Brown, a Tennessee delegate to the 2012 convention in Tampa, Fla., told the Examiner she was “weirded out” by the attempts to intimidate her work on the rules committee. The convention rules committee meets prior to the quadrennial nominating convention and sets procedure for the gathering, such was qualifications for a candidate to be placed into nomination on the floor.
“We had people snapping pictures of how we voted, I had one enthusiastic Ron Paul supporter follow me back to my hotel and confront me,” Brown said in an email. “Our personal emails and phone numbers were mass emailed out by different advocate groups trying to convince us to vote a certain way. I literally would hang up my cell phone, and immediately would receive another call for hours on end … one after another.”
Following her experience four years ago, Brown said she has not yet decided whether she will even attend the 2016 convention, but said additional precautions must be taken to protect the delegates.
“I would say considering how the tension was just in 2012 (and from what I’ve seen on TV) there definitely needs to be security at the committee meetings for sure,” she said. “Not sure how you could logistically secure members at all time unless you just put added security measures in place at their hotel and kept them quarantined there. There will definitely be people trying to track down and speak/lobby the members if any major changes are proposed that could affect certain candidates.”
Rick Wilson, a Florida-based Republican strategist and prominent Trump opponent, said the GOP should block Stone from attending the convention and said the flamboyant operative is a “punk ass bitch” for his efforts to intimidate his political opponents.
“We’re a party of ideas and philosophies, not of men and mobs,” Wilson said. “I believe that the Republican National Committee should ban Roger and other Trump people that are involved in this campaign from entering the convention facility. I think they should work with local law enforcement authorities to get a protection order against anybody involved in the Trump. … in any kind of intimidation like this.”
Wilson said if Trump supporters galvanized by Stone try to physically confront him at the convention, “they better have their health insurance up to date before they come and visit me.”
Gabby Morrongiello contributed to this report.
